Vita Tecsaco
by Ctarl Angel
Summary: A demon has found a way to cheat the afterlife and the only clue the Spirit Detectives have is a girl Kurama found in a blizzard. A little OCHiei
1. Prologue

Prologue

They were both bi-polar, they countered each other. Vita Tecsaco watched from her place chained to the wall in the basement as her father beat her mother. The crack of his whip resounded and reverberated off of the stone walls meant to protect. It was an every day occurrence for her to watch one of them beat the other when they slipped into their destructive state of mentality. It was slightly relieving, in a way, to watch them beat each other. At least they weren't beating her, right? Her father must have subconsciously sensed her pitiful comfort and turned to her with the sturdy whip in hand. She tried to get away, but once again her ankle was sprained from the fall down the stairs and she collapsed into a heap on the cold stone floor. She feared the pain, but she feared her father more. The whip cracked against her skin in random places, never allowing her to know where the pain would strike next. It seemed like an endless amount of time passed before the whip stopped, but when it finally did, she didn't relax, no. There was more to come. Now in pain and unable to escape from her father, Vita struggled against his body which was lowering itself to her. His cruel mental state allowed him to do what any good father would cringe just thinking about. He raped his daughter. He raped her until she could no longer stay conscious.

---

A stabbing pain shot through her lower stomach, awaking the previously unconscious girl. As her eyes opened slowly, the first thing she noticed was the chains around her wrists that connected to the stone wall behind her, holding her hands above her head. Looking down at herself, she discovered neither of her parents had bothered to change her clothes, which were shredded from the whip and soaked in blood from the rape. In fact, that pool of blood was in a slightly dried puddle at her feet. That same pain tore through her body again and she cringed, holding in the scream that she knew would alert her parents. She glanced down at her ankle and slowly straightened that leg using her other foot, hoping to stop the swelling a little.

Voices traveled through the door at the top of the stairs and Vita listened, praying they wouldn't come down into the basement. The voices were angry, shouting at each other about something she could not decipher. But soon a door slammed and the voices stopped. She expected to hear footsteps of one of her parents across the floorboards above her, but all was still. After waiting a few minutes, Vita concluded both of her parents had vacated and she was being given a chance to escape… if she could break away from the chains. She meagerly tried to pull out of the clasps, but they were too tight around her wrists and too strongly implanted into the wall. An idea popping into her mind, Vita pulled herself partially off the floor and stooped on her good leg. Reaching down the collar of her shirt, she unhooked the paperclip holding the straps of her bra together and allowed herself to slump back to the floor. The paperclip, however, was not placed there for that purpose; it was intended to a key, in case this happened again. Sending up a silent prayer, the battered girl began to work with the paperclip to release her bindings.

An hour later, Vita was subconsciously moving the paperclip around in the lock, not even paying attention to what she was doing. A door slammed above her, making her slam her hands into the lock, praying neither of her parents discovered her attempt at escape. The frightened girl didn't move but listened to the frantic footsteps above her. Occasionally, she would hear something crash to the ground and then nothing. Finally, it ended with another door closing somewhere within the house.

Only after the noises had stopped did Vita dare to move from her position. Her hands relaxed and fell from their clamped position around the lock, with paperclip in hand. A rusted squeak caught her ear and she looked up at the clamps around her wrists. The startled action of slamming her hands to the lock had forced the small piece of metal into the correct place and the lock had opened. For a moment, she didn't believe what lay before her eyes, but slowly hope seeped into her heart and a smiled crossed her face. She didn't know how long she had been in that basement, or how long it had been since the commotion upstairs had stopped when she finally got the courage to remove her bindings and crawl to the steps, the pain in her stomach now a harsh throbbing.

"Please, Kami… Don't let them find me," On her hands and knees, Vita slowly opened to the door at the top of the stairs and peeked out. It didn't seem like anyone was around so she continued as quietly as she could to the kitchen door, holding her breath. Entire body tense, Vita opened the wood door that would lead to her freedom, only to have a ferocious wind shove it in. Heavy snowflakes blew against her face and into the kitchen, chilling the entire room. If she hadn't kept her hand tightly secured on the door, it would have slammed against the wall and caught the attention of her parents, but thankfully luck seemed to be on her side. As a last attempt to not get caught, Vita softly closed the door behind her and left the house of blood and wandered into a white blizzard.

---

Continue? Don't Continue?


	2. Chapter 1

Thank you for the reviews, I will continue the story as long as people are still interested. I do not own anything dealing with Yu Yu Hakusho or any other anime. Vita is copyright me.

Daijoubu desu ka? - Are you alright?  
Arigato - Thank you  
Sumimasen - I'm very sorry.  
Watashi wa desu. - My name is .  
Yoroshiku onegaishimasu. - Please treat me well.  
Onegai - Please  
Oyasumi nasai - Good night  
tomodachi - friend  
suimin'yaku - sleeping pill; sleep medication  
nemurikomu - Sleep well

Chapter 1

Kurama walked through the blizzard, wondering why he had decided this would be the night he would trek to Hiei's cabin to enjoy the rest of his winter vacation. At least he wasn't too cold. As a former thief, he was used to extreme temperatures and managed through the thick snow with his keen eyesight. In fact, it was this eyesight that spotted a shape out-of-place in the woods he was so familiar with. Whatever it was, was leaned up against a tree and was covered in snow, adding to the banks that were slowly submerging the surrounding trees. Curiosity got the better of him and he walked confidently up to the shape, knowing whatever it was, he could handle it. The top of the figure hung slightly away from the trunk of the tree and this was what he first inspected. Slowly he pushed the object back and gasped as the face of a girl came into his view. Barely thinking, Kurama scooped the girl into his arms and ran as quickly as he could to Hiei's cabin, praying she was still alive.

The distance was covered in a short time and Kurama burst into the cabin, ignoring his usual manners with his friends. Instead, he paid no attention to the fire apparition sharpening his sword over a coffee table, but ran to the occupied fireplace and placed the girl in front of the warm blaze. Scrambling to the closet, he pulled out the thin blankets there and covered her body with them, praying they would warm her. All he could do now was wait.

"What is the meaning of this?" Hiei finally spoke, eyeing the girl now, as she appeared, melting on his floor.

"I found her in the woods just a moment ago. I couldn't leave her there!" Hiei's glare shifted from his companion to the large puddle developing on the floor and soaking into the blankets. He knew Kurama meant well, but why did he constantly drag him into what was not his business? He mentally sighed and sheathed his sharpened sword. With a curt nod, he entered an attached room and closed the door behind him. If Kurama wanted something to worry about, fine, but he would be cleaning up the mess without Hiei's help.

Kurama stared at the girl for another hour, pondering why she was out in the blizzard and how long she had been there. Maybe another minute and she would have been dead. Now that he thought about it, was she breathing when he had brought her there? Had he even heard her heartbeat, or was it his own? It didn't matter anymore, she was alive and slowly regaining her color now. She had been quite light when he had carried her there… lighter than normal for a human girl. She looked about his human age, but her frame was even smaller than Hiei's, and he was a small person, whether he liked it or not. The rosy color now tinting her almost sunken features sharply contrasted with her remarkably pale skin. The unhealthy look to her face made him worry slightly. Had she been out there longer than he had thought?

He pushed his thoughts aside and prepared himself for the night's sleep. Glancing once again at the girl on the floor, Kurama opted to sleep on the couch incase she woke up in the middle of the night. He didn't think it was likely, considering her condition, but just in case, she wouldn't be alone when she woke.

Vita's periwinkle blue eyes slowly opened from their heavy resting place and took a moment to adjust to the dim light glowing beside her. Suddenly realizing she was no longer outside, her body shot up into a sitting position and she frantically looked around, trying to assess the situation. To her left was a fireplace that held dimly burning coals and to her right… was a boy? Confused as to her predicament, Vita squinted at the figure on the couch, wondering if he was an illusion. Maybe she had died and was just waking up to her afterlife. But as she looked down at her bruised and beaten body, she knew she was still alive. Carefully, she examined the wounds from the whip and noticed the pain in her lower stomach had diminished, though it still hurt to move. Now aware of her physical condition, Vita turned her attention to the boy sleeping on the couch.

Forest green eyes stared at her through the minimal light and watched as she examined herself. He took special notice when she lowered her hand to her stomach and winced. As her head began to turn towards him, he closed his eyes, not wanting to get caught staring, though it seemed strange that he would feel this way. Perhaps it was the inner thief, Youko's, sensibilities and caution against being caught doing anything suspicious. Either way, he felt a light shake of his shoulder and opened his eyes as if he had been sleeping, then widened them in mock surprise, successfully pulling off the act.

"You're awake!" Kurama sat up, taking the image of the girl in fully. Her creased, midnight black hair hung slightly in her face as she looked up at him through her long bangs. "Daijoubu desu ka? I found you in the woods during the blizzard and brought you to this house," Vita's head lowered and he followed her face, though in vain, as she shifted her body until she was bowing in front of him. Surprise crossed his features as her weak voice spoke for the first time.

"Domo arigato! I am forever in your debt!" Vita kept her forehead pressed to the ground, despite the pain it caused her stomach. This kind soul had saved her life and had taken her from what would have been worse than death… if her parents had found her. Somehow she would repay him, even if it meant a life of slavery owed to him! She would do it!

Vita hadn't noticed the red-head shift from the couch to his position kneeling beside her until his hand lifted her face from the ground and turned it to face him. "You owe me no debt. What did you expect me to do? Leave you there to die?" Seemingly without thought, she nodded her head with a look of surprise in her eyes. This also spiked his curiosity. She hadn't expected anyone to care enough to save her if they came across her? What kind of life had she led to make her think like this?

Their heads snapped to the side as a soft click omitted from the door that had just closed behind a dark figure. Kurama felt the girl shrink back slightly at the arrival of this unknown person and he turned his head back and smiled at her. "It's alright, he's my friend, and this is his home," Understanding crossed her features and she bowed to him as well.

"Domo arigato! I am forever in your debt! Without your hospitality, I would be dead," She recited the words she had spoken to Kurama and added clarification for the unknown person. With a start, she realized she had not introduced herself to these men. "Sumimasen! Watashi wa Tecsaco Vita desu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu! Please allow me to pay the debt I owe you for saving my life," She coughed from lack of moisture in her throat and tried to continue her words when a hand touched her shoulder. When she looked up, she saw a glass of water being held by the hand of the red-head and accepted it readily. "Domo arigato," When the drink had been drained, she began to stand to wash the glass and put it away, but the same hands held her down and took the glass from her.

"You need to rest, your injuries need to heal," Vita looked for the one shrouded in black to perhaps gain assistance in her refusal to rest, but his image was gone, nowhere to be seen.

"Where did-?"

"Outside, training no doubt. Hiei wields a katana and is very powerful. I advise you not to anger him in any way. My name is Shuichi Minamino, but you may call me Kurama," He smiled at her in a comforting gesture and blood rushed to her face at the amount of attention she was receiving. Kurama reached out and tentatively touched the area around a wound and watched her hiss in pain and recoil back. He was too fond of his own whip to not recognize the type of damage it inflicts upon the recipient, though his may have different effects. "Rest. While you sleep, I will tend to your wounds," He gently pushed her back onto the pile of blankets as the suimin'yaku in her water began to take affect.

"Onegai…"

"Nemurikomu, Tomodachi,"

* * *

When next Vita woke, she was no longer on the floor or even in the same room. She sat up from the American-style bed and looked around the plain room that was saturated with the scent of roses. Foreign voices drifted through the thin walls and the cracks in the doorway, and though they were muffled, she instantly recognized one as Kurama. It was then she realized sitting up had not been painful. As she looked down, she noticed the multiple bandages and wrappings around her wounds and mentally thanked Kurama for his kindness. She slipped her legs out from under the covers and she realized that even her ankle was better. Not healed, but at least she could walk a little on it. At the foot of the bed was a small pile of dark clothes which were meant to replace the tatters that hung from her frail body and she gratefully donned them. Not sure of what to do with the others, she folded what was left and placed them on the bedside table, folding the bed sheets after the task was completed.

The entire time, she listening to the muffled voices, trying to understand what they were talking about, but they were being too quiet. She was able to distinguish different voices, though. Kurama's was the first, followed by a voice that boomed even in whispers and had a scratchy quality. There was a female present with an upbeat timber and another male with a sly, cocky voice. Curiosity finally got the better of her and she slowly cracked open the door, the voices becoming clear and understandable.

"…-breath finally has a decent job for us? Well let's hear it, Botan. You're cutting into my winter break!"

"Yusuke, you know Koenma doesn't like it when you call him that. But you're right. It will be a challenging task this time."

"Well get one with it, Botan. I could be kicking Urameshi's ass right now!"

"Like hell you would! You can't even land a-!"

"We have company," The unknown voice and the sudden revealing caught Vita off guard and she backed away from the door quickly. Soft footsteps followed the expression and the door opened to allow Vita the view of Kurama standing in the doorway.

"I'm glad to see you are awake. How are you feeling?" Vita only nodded in confirmation to her health and cautiously glanced over his shoulder to see if she could catch a peek at the owners of the voices. Kurama caught the glance and moved away so she could exit the room. When she didn't move, he gently caught her arm and tugged her from his room. "This is Vita. I found her in the storm two nights ago," Shock registered on Vita's face at his declaration. She'd been asleep for two days! "Vita, these are my friends," Kurama quickly went through all of the names and introductions were soon over. However, Vita's eyes were locked on the female, now recognized as Botan, who was staring at her with a look of bewilderment.

"Vita… Tecsaco?" Vita slowly nodded and Botan's eyes grew large. "We need to take her to Koenma NOW!" Botan rushed to Vita and pulled her onto her oar before flying out of the room. The remaining members of the room stood shocked and confused at the moment's events and so entered the portal that appeared in front of them without question.

* * *

"KOENMA!" Botan flew into Koenma's office with Vita, not even bothering to get off of her oar. Startled, the small ruler looked up from his paperwork to the frantic ferry girl.

"What is it Botan? And who is that?" Koenma tried to look around to the new arrival, but she hid herself behind Botan.

"Sir… it's Vita Tecsaco!"

"What!" Koenma instantly jumped up from his seat and ran to where Botan was pulling the girl off of the oar. At the same time a portal opened and the spirit detectives walked out.

"What's going on?" whined Kuwabara. "I hate being left in the dark," Koenma could not tear his eyes away from Vita and it was unnerving her. How did these people suddenly know who she was?

"You're right, Botan, it is her. But… she's alive."

"I know, Sir. What should we do?"

"Well, we can't very well take her life from her now that she has it again-"

"HEY! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!" Yusuke's indignant voice rang through the large room and grabbed the attention of the conversing pair. The two glanced at each other and back to Yusuke.

"Well, you see," Koenma started, turning to gesture at Vita. He stopped, though, when he saw the terrified look on her face. Vita's thoughts were loud and annoying to Hiei who caught every word. _They want to kill me? But… I just got away from my parents! I finally have a chance to live and they want to take that away?_ "Alright, I'll start from the beginning. I don't think even she realizes what's been going on," Koenma took his seat behind the desk that was too large for him and asked Botan for assistance in the story if he missed anything. "The ferries like Botan are chosen to lead the dead because they were very spirit aware in life. When a person dies, that awareness increases, which was an extra bonus for us when we decided to make you spirit detective, Yusuke. You had acquired that extra step. A spirit has a slightly different type of energy signal, as you all know, and the ferries are very sensitive to this change. So when a person dies, they know. This makes them wonderful helpers in collecting souls. The problem was, they knew a person was dead, they just didn't know where to locate the spirit."

"That's where these fun gadgets come in," Botan explained, pulling out a device that looked like a palm pilot. "It tells me where the spirit is and automatically connects me to their file from the main base so I know I'm getting the right spirit. They were made by King Yemma's inventors and have never made an error. However, every once-in-a-while for the past ten years, a file has been popping up without a location and none of the ferry girls could detect a spirit, so we thought there was a flaw. The creators checked out each one of the devices and nothing was ever wrong, so we just learned to ignore it," Botan returned the device to her kimono and allowed Koenma to continue.

"We still don't know why the devices would not give a location, but the name that popped up every time was Tecsaco Vita," Koenma's eyes trailed to the girl mentioned with question in his eyes. She stared back at him, shocked, trying to take in the new information. But, that means…

"Whoa, whoa, Koenma. Slow down," Yusuke interjected, drawing attention to himself. "As someone who has died and come back to life, I know you can't just _come back_. That's not possible! I had to go through that whole thing with the egg and all that other stuff! If you're saying what I think you're saying, than that's not fair! How come I had to go through all that shit and she can just come back when she wants to?" Kurama decided to add in his two cents.

"Yes, Koenma. I too know the rules of Spirit World and that is quite against everything this realm stands for. Typically once you are dead, there is no coming back," Koenma sighed and leaned back into his chair, trying to collect his thoughts and find the best way to explain.

"This is true. However, it is not the first time this has happened," Hiei's attention was immediately caught. Someone had discovered a way to cheat the afterlife? Hiei's eyes turned to Vita. At some point during the explanation, she had turned her back on the group and sat curled in a ball on the floor. She was hugging herself tightly and whispering to herself in her mind. Hiei turned his attention back to Koenma when he continued. "At the time, we didn't have the devices so retrieving souls was much harder. You see, when a person dies, a collector is immediately sent to retrieve the soul. But if the ferry doesn't find the soul before the body is aroused, it will return to the body and life for that person will continue. When you hear people talk about dying and seeing 'the light' or 'the tunnel' it is the portal that is supposed to guide them here. But because there is no ferry to lead them through, they stay where they are and eventually return to the body. At first it didn't come to our attention, but when a certain demon named Kuroshi did not appear after his death-date, we looked into it. And we couldn't find him," His hands folded as he closed his eyes and recounted to tale to the Reikai.

"There wasn't much known about Kuroshi. He was a B class water demon of unknown origin and he had a brother. That was about all we knew. Up until that point, he had a clean slate; he hadn't done a thing to be considered dangerous. But then he found a way to cheat the system. It was years after he was supposed to die when a lower-class demon from the prisons said he had information about him. Of course, we granted him a pleasant afterlife once we found out what we now know. He had been a servant of Kuroshi for many years and explained that Kuroshi was a pleasant demon who was very fond of the sciences and religions. He had an insatiable thirst for knowledge and knew that death would one day have him. He did not want that. So he spent a better part of his life experimenting and trying to find a way to live forever, to cheat death. Finally he believed he had succeeded, but he needed to test it. Kuroshi trusted very few, only his brother and his few family servants, so he decided to try it on himself. He locked himself in a room for a month without food, water, or light. And when his brother entered the room, he was dead. However, when he started to remove and prepare the body for burial, he came back to life. He had not found a way to cheat death, but he had found a way to cheat the afterlife. He had invented an _ofuda_, or a ward, that somehow interfered with the ferry's ability to sense the change from life to death. And therefore, he could return to life without any troubles. Because he was able to create these, he was also able to create ofuda that hid him completely from Spirit World's radar. He and his brother are still alive, but we have no knowledge of his whereabouts."

"And not only that," interjected Botan. "but no doubt he discovered his increased powers since he returned to life that first time. Who knows how many times he has died in the past five thousand years! Just think of how much power he could have by now!" Everyone paused to think of the possibilities, all knowing that he could be above an S class. Vita listened to every word spoken, still trying to comprehend everything. It was just too much. But one image kept popping into her mind and she started tracing it on the ground. Hiei's attention shifted toward Vita when he didn't hear her mind anymore and watched as she drew an image on the ground with her finger. He watched closely and realized it was a symbol, probably the one used for the ofuda. Surprised by Hiei's sudden action, the room just watched as he walked up to Koenma's desk, grabbed a piece of paper and pen, and handed them to the forgotten girl. She took the objects and drew the symbol, thankful to get the image out of her mind. As soon as it was completed, Hiei snatched the paper away from her and handed it to Koenma. He looked at it curiously, slowly making the connection.

"Vita, what is this?" Vita was slow to reply, not trusting anyone in the room but Kurama.

"They… they were everywhere… in the basement," Her voice was soft and hesitant, like it hadn't been used often. Her eyes flickered to Kurama, like she was talking only to him. He caught this gesture and figured it would be best if he was the one who asked her questions. Kurama slowly walked over to Vita and crouched in front of her huddled form.

"In the basement?" She nodded, letting her long, black hair cover her face.

"It's where they… kept me," He shared a glance with the others in the room and continued.

"Why did they 'keep' you in the basement?" She shrugged. He tried again. "What happened in the basement?" Hiei's thoughts where bombarded with screams, images of blood, and feelings of pain and fear. His eyes narrowed slightly as he realized what her parents had done, but the gesture was lost as everyone was staring at the girl now shaking on the floor. The others were still waiting for an answer, but he knew it wouldn't come, not while they resided on that topic.

"Ask another question," Kurama glanced at Hiei and understood that he would tell them later. He nodded to his friend and continued.

"Vita?" Kurama touched her chin to get her to look up. As she did, he saw the pain and fear that Hiei had felt. He didn't need to ask her any more questions. "Koenma," voiced Kurama as he rose from the ground, "do you still have that prisoner at hand?" The questioned was slightly thrown off at the change of topic.

"Well… yes, if we need him."

"Good. Show him that drawing and ask if it is the same as what Kuroshi used. If it is, we may be able to retrieve the ofuda and find a way to get around the energy block. And then we can find Kuroshi," Koenma nodded, following the fox's logic.

"Yeah well, what are we supposed to do when we find him?" inquired Yusuke. Kurama turned his attention to him, but remained facing Koenma.

"You will receive my orders. As for now, you are to retrieve _all_ of the ofuda and bring them back here for testing," Koenma's word was final and the discussion seemed over. Kurama gently lifted Vita from the floor by her elbow so they could leave.

"Hey guys?" The gang turned to face Kuwabara who was staring at Vita. "Why is she wearing Hiei's clothes?" All eyes turned to Vita who, was indeed, wearing a pair of Hiei's pants and his cloak. By the time they turned to question him, Hiei had vanished.


End file.
